Supervision

Sabrina Low

MRC PPU, University of Dundee — Summer Student 2024

I was connected with Dr Madsen through Dr James Abbott as I was seeking to undertake a computational project related to human disease.

As a result, my poster presentation at the end of the summer project went well and was commended by several academics who judged it.

Dr Madsen has inspired me with her passion for science and commitment to doing good science. She emphasises the importance of reproducibility, rigour, and thoroughness in every experiment. Her dedication to these principles has instilled in me a deeper appreciation for the scientific process. Dr Madsen has taught me to always dig deeper when undertaking a task, to consistently ask why we are doing something, and to avoid blindly completing tasks for the sake of getting them done. She emphasised the importance of understanding each experiment's significance, with the overarching goal of researching PI3K signalling being to comprehend its basic biology, which could potentially lead to discoveries of new therapeutics.

I highly recommend joining Dr Madsen's lab. It may be intense and not for the faint-hearted, but it is incredibly rewarding.

Natasha Reid

MRC PPU, University of Dundee — Summer Student 2024

During the summer, I had the privilege of working in Ralitsa Madsen's lab at the MRC PPU. From the very first email, Ralitsa was welcoming and motivating, setting a positive tone that continued throughout my entire experience.

From the outset, Ralitsa's dedication to maximising my studentship was evident. She made sure I was well-prepared before even entering the lab, emphasising the importance of understanding the theory behind her work. On my first day, she ensured I was supported and equipped with the necessary skills, training me to a high standard. She instilled in me the importance of being meticulous and cautious, advocating for a mindset of "paranoia" and "trusting no one," which ultimately leads to top-notch results.

There were moments when I doubted my abilities and lacked confidence. During these times, Ralitsa was a constant source of encouragement, reminding me of my capabilities and urging me to persevere. Importantly, she created an environment where mistakes were seen as valuable learning opportunities, never something to feel guilty about.

At the beginning of my studentship, I expressed my anxiety around public speaking and presenting, which I considered my biggest weakness. Ralitsa took this seriously and ensured I had opportunities to present during lab meetings. Although initially stressful, these experiences were instrumental in building my confidence. With her guidance and constructive feedback, I now feel more capable and prepared than ever before.

Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better supervisor for my first lab experience. Any student would be incredibly fortunate to have the privilege of being welcomed into Ralitsa's lab.

Oliwia Mruk

MRC PPU, University of Dundee — July 2023–current

I got acquainted with Ralitsa by chance, as she was looking for someone to join for a summer project at her newly opened lab (May 2023) at the MRC PPU. My first impressions were incredibly positive; Ralitsa struck me as extremely organised and passionate about her work. We ended up submitting for a Biochemical Society studentship and now, a few months later, I am continuing on as a student and technician.

One thing to know about Ralitsa is how diligent and meticulous she is, which is the absolute key to good science. This also means that you learn things at an extremely high standard in her lab, which I really appreciated coming into the lab with not that much wet lab experience.

But if I had to choose one thing I appreciate about Ralitsa's work and teaching the most it is her interest in multidisciplinary research and out-of-the-box approach. My primary interest and study pathway is bioinformatics, so joining a lab that appreciates the use of computational techniques and encourages considerations of other disciplines is what really stuck with me. This gives anyone in the lab the opportunity to explore different fields; I was frequently invited for meetings and even got to travel to Switzerland to develop my computational skills further and share them with the lab. I was also lucky to contribute to the development of an image analysis pipeline and data generation, amounting to my first-ever scientific publication (!), for which I was awarded second co-authorship. This just goes to show how committed Ralitsa is to her work but also the personal and professional development of "her people".

I feel extremely privileged to be working with Ralitsa at the MRC PPU, where I learn something new every single day. She is, in my opinion, a perfect example of what a true scientist and leader should be; inquisitive, positively critical, and empowering.

Taylor Woodward

BIDMC, Toker Lab — June 2022–June 2023

Ralitsa and I met during my time in the Toker Lab. I was hired as the lab's technician and manager. I chose this position to apply physical principles to biological systems. However, I soon learned that the two fields have two VERY different languages. The learning curve was very steep, thanks to Ralitsa Madsen dx/dy>>0.

I will never forget our first full conversation. She was carrying around a well-used linear algebra textbook. As I was surrounded by everything new I jumped for joy at the sight of vectors and matrices. Ralitsa and I immediately struck up a conversation about interdisciplinary fields; the struggles but most importantly the rewards. I soon realised how rare it was to meet a biologist that loved calculus.

Soon after our conversation Ralitsa noticed me struggling to make connections between biology and physics. At the time she was mentoring a PhD candidate (Emily Erickson) but decided to also take me under her wing to show me wet-lab basics. No matter how menial the task may have seemed she has a very precise way it must be done. If you (as the student) are inquisitive and direct enough to ask "why" you will learn more than you can believe.

At times the amount of information could become overwhelming but she would recognise that and give me time to write, organise and collect my thoughts. She never made me feel bad for making errors, she only asked why I thought they happened and upon reflection I always learned something new. She has a great ability to ask questions that ask questions — you will not feel shut down or boxed in with her.

Inside of the lab she is a dialled-in scientist whose passion and knowledge is unmatched. Ralitsa's attention to detail does not stop when you leave the bench. She helped me navigate the professional landscape and taught me to advocate for myself. For all of the reasons explained above I am overjoyed to say that I will be continuing to work with and learn from her as I continue my education. I am very excited to have Ralitsa on my PhD committee as we continue on the road of experimental exploration.

Julia Gorczynska

UCL Cancer Institute, CellSig Lab — October 2022–February 2023

By pure luck, Ralitsa was assigned as a supervisor for my undergraduate research project, and I couldn't be more thankful! I didn't have any laboratory experience prior to this, but Ralitsa was very patient and understanding. She selflessly put a lot of effort into teaching me all the fundamentals I needed to be a diligent scientist with integrity. Ralitsa has high standards, she will always let you know whenever there is room to improve and I truly hope that all my future supervisors are equally as straightforward and honest.

Aside from all the help she gave me to progress my career, she has also supported me personally by helping me deal with my anxiety. Ralitsa was very sympathetic, she did everything she could to make sure I felt comfortable in the lab, and most valuably, she encouraged me to push boundaries to overcome my anxiety. She had more trust in me than I had in myself, and I will be forever grateful for all the lessons Ralitsa instilled in me!

Grey (Shaozhen) Yin

UCL Cancer Institute, CellSig Lab — October 2021–June 2023 (undergraduate project, research assistant, masters project)

While I was doing my undergraduate lab project under the supervision of Ralitsa Madsen, I felt lucky thousands of times.

At the beginning of my final year, lab skill was my weakness. Ralitsa took me as her student and started to train me with very basic skills with great patience. As a starter, I have made tons of mistakes, but Ralitsa has always been encouraging. She is willing to share her experiences with me, like small tricks for experiments, as well as her thoughts about academic teaching and researching. There is always something new to learn from her while we work together. In addition to her direct teaching, Ralitsa has set a perfect personal example for me. While she is working, she is 100% strict and focused on every bit of detail to minimise error and maximise the reliability of the experimental outcome. She always plans ahead and 'prepares for the worst' while doing the experiments.

Ralitsa's principle of teaching is that she is generous with compliments and straightforward with penalisation. I have found this quite beneficial to me since she clearly tells me where my problems are, and I know exactly where I need to improve. She also gives me more than enough trust and encouragement when I do lab work without her supervision. She calls us 'co-pilot' when we work on the same experiment, and I really like it!!!

Overall, I feel absolutely lucky to have been trained by Ralitsa from scratch which allowed me to get into some essential habits from the beginning, and she has set a perfect example of what is an independent and mature researcher.

Salome (Jingchen) Zhao

UCL Cancer Institute, CellSig Lab — October 2020–August 2021

My name is Salome Zhao. I have done my undergraduate research project with Ralitsa Madsen at the Cell Signalling Lab at the UCL Cancer Institute.

I first encountered Rali when reading her PNAS paper about PIK3CA-H1047R allele dose-dependency. I immediately emailed her and Prof Bart Vanhaesebroeck, and she kindly accepted for me to complete my undergraduate project under her supervision during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working with her, I feel that I have learnt not only the lab skills, but also Rali's attitude towards academic research. Her passion towards science and teaching as well as her patience towards her students have opened the door of the real world of academic research to me.

Working with an INTJ (MBTI-language, Rali loves it) can be a slightly 'painful' yet rewarding experience. Rali's way of teaching can sometimes be what I consider 'tough love', following the rules — "Scientific communication should always be accurate" and "Hard work and effort pays off" — however, she is also like a 'mama bear' who cares about the student's personal life and mental health, which has been extremely helpful to me during the difficult time of the pandemic.

Overall, this experience has undoubtedly paved my way from an undergraduate student to a potential young researcher.

Emily Erickson

Harvard University, Toker Lab — October 2020–August 2023

Ralitsa has a way of taking on projects and mentees. She never does anything halfway. What I thought would be a short tutorial on RNA-seq analysis in R has turned into a fully-fledged analytical collaboration. Whenever I have questions, Ralitsa finds time to help me, even if that is late on weeknights or weekends. I often see her working on our shared code late at night, sometimes adding encouraging notes and comments to the sections that I have worked on.

One of her many skills is asking probing questions that get her colleagues and students to think deeply about a problem. It is during these conversations that her thorough understanding of a scientific question becomes apparent — often extending to their mathematical or even philosophical underpinnings. She resists out-of-the-box solutions, striving for a clearer understanding of complex signalling pathways.

Her goal as a mentor is to develop independent thinkers who are deeply rooted in foundational knowledge, like herself. To illustrate this point, she will often provide a curated set of papers along with her detailed interpretation in response to my questions, guiding me to develop my own conclusions.

Ralitsa's insatiable curiosity, combined with her commitment to integrity and nearly limitless energy make her a force to be reckoned with. She is a vocal advocate for open science, regularly contributing articles on the subject and giving seminars on reproducible research methods. She lives up to these standards of integrity by enthusiastically seeking feedback on her own data and writing, and regularly surpassing the normally accepted standards for data integrity to convince herself that her results are clear and accurate.

Ralitsa has become an invaluable resource and trusted mentor. Her work ethic and passion for good science are unparalleled, and her example has shown me what it means to be a mature scientist.

Eleanor McKay

University of Edinburgh, Semple Lab — May–July 2019

I was very fortunate that Ralitsa put herself forward to supervise me for my MSc rotation project, during a busy time for her. This is typical of Ralitsa — she is passionate about everything being done the right way and sharing this with others, no matter the sacrifices required for her time.

Not only did Ralitsa teach me the best practice for all protocols and experiments, she shared the reasoning behind this best practice and I learned how to apply a rigorous and scientifically thorough approach to all aspects of my research. This really is an invaluable skill to be taught, and I wish everyone would have this opportunity when they first start lab work.

Ralitsa is very hands on and gives up large amounts of time to make sure you are highly skilled in all areas required — you are not left at the deep end to struggle alone which is sadly all too common for many students.

Ralitsa also introduced me to the FAIR science principles and shared her passion for developing open science.

The downsides of working with Ralitsa is that you can never match up to her incredible level of dedication and passion to science! The time commitment Ralitsa gives to research can be a little exhausting if you don't have the same deep level of passion to spend evenings and weekends in the lab. That being said, I also found working with Ralitsa very fun and rewarding. She is direct with her feedback but this only helps to improve your science.

Overall I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with someone so driven and passionate about not just research, but high quality, reproducible research using absolute best practices.